Trio robs Georgetown dollar store

Three men who pulled a gunpoint heist at a Dollar General store in Georgetown were arrested Saturday after a brief chase, police said Monday.

The incident unfolded shortly before 9 p.m. at the Dollar General Store, 432 E. Market St., where three men were seen running away, Lt. Lawrence Grose said.

Maurice Land, 57, of Georgetown; Martin Booker, 44, of Lincoln; and 31-year-old Christopher Clay, of Wilmington; each were charged with first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during a felony, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, receiving a stolen firearm, tampering with physical evidence and felony conspiracy.

Land was also charged with reckless endangering and aggravated menacing, Grose said.

An investigation determined that Land and Clay entered the store, while Booker stood outside as a look out.

Land took money out of an employee's purse in the store and confronted a female employee as she entered with the night's receipts, Grose said.

Martin Booker(Photo:
Georgetown PD
)

Land pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at the woman before taking the money. The trio fled from the area on foot toward Albury Avenue, where they were spotted by an officer responding to the robbery-in-progress call.

Several officers and state troopers converged on the area and ordered the men to stop, police said

A silver-and-black Stoeger Cougar 9mm semi-automatic handgun was found in the area where Clay was arrested. A review of the responding officers' in-car cameras showed Clay throwing a silver-and-black object over the fence just before he was arrested.

The handgun was reported stolen in Pennsylvania, Grose said.

Christopher Clay(Photo:
Georgetown PD
)

Officers found the stolen register cash on Booker, while Land was in possession of the proceeds taken from the employee's purse in the office.

All three men were committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution. Booker and Clay are each being held on $117,000 cash bail, and Land is jailed on $128,000 cash bail.